Wait ‘til next year: 6 candidates to achieve their postseason hopes ... in 2027

As we enter the final week of the MLB season, we will wave 12 teams into the playoff field, which means we wave goodbye to 18 others. Some of those 18 are not major surprises; teams such as the Rockies, Nationals and Cardinals are just pleased with the progress they’ve made this year.

But some teams came into 2026 with higher hopes that have not come to fruition. They will be staying home this October, much to their, and their fans’, chagrin. But just because 2026 didn’t work out, it doesn’t mean that 2027 is a lost cause. After all, at this time a year ago, the Rays and Braves -- to name just two teams -- were wrapping up sub-.500, fourth-place finishes. And look where they are now.

Here’s a look at a team from each division that hasn’t met its elevated expectations in 2026 -- who will be watching the playoffs with the rest of us -- but has a case to potentially get there in 2027.

(Note: The Blue Jays would absolutely be on this list -- no team came into this season with hopes higher, after that World Series last year -- but they’re still holding on for dear life to their faint playoff hopes. So we’ll give them a pass for now. But check back with us next Monday.)

AL East: Orioles

The Orioles went into a multi-year, deep-dive, trust-the-process style rebuild, but they’ve never quite reaped the rewards in the way everyone expected. They did win 101 games and an AL East title in 2023 and made the playoffs in back-to-back years, but they were bounced without winning a single game in both instances. And now the past two years have been crashouts. (The 2026 Orioles are still technically alive, but they could be eliminated as soon as Tuesday.)

This year’s disappointing result was highlighted by the trade of Adley Rutschman to the rival Red Sox, which may have made sense from a personnel standpoint -- the Orioles received excellent prospects in return -- but still gave the sense of organizational retreat. That doesn’t have to be the case, though!

There is a ton of talent here, even if the Orioles are still waiting on breakouts from young players such as Jackson Holliday. They’ve got an unquestioned leader and role model in Pete Alonso and a rotation that, after all the anguish about it over the past few years, may have in fact been a team strength this year. This division is always going to be tough. But one of these years has to be the year when everything aligns in Baltimore. Right? Right?

AL Central: Tigers

There are underlying metrics that suggest the Tigers have been better than their record indicated for most of this season, but it was clear the organization didn’t entirely buy them. It certainly didn’t stop Detroit from trading Tarik Skubal at the Deadline for a treasure trove of prospects.

The players added in that deal (Zyhir Hope, River Ryan and Brady Smith) all look like big parts of future Tigers teams. Of course, they already have Kevin McGonigle (likely the AL Rookie of the Year), Max Clark and, don’t forget, Riley Greene, who, despite playing five years in the Majors so far and making three All-Star teams, is only 25. The Tigers, quietly, have gotten younger and more exciting, even with the loss of Skubal. They look like they will be a part of every AL Central race for the next decade ... including next year.

AL West: Mariners

No team has been more disappointing than the Mariners this year, and frankly, it’s not particularly close. The M’s have just felt snakebit from the get-go, with just about everything going wrong, from Julio Rodríguez’s unexpected regression to Cal Raleigh’s nightmare year to lost seasons from Colt Emerson and Brendan Donovan, to just the vibes and mojo being a total mess.

But it’s not unreasonable to write this off as just everything going wrong at once. The Mariners still have one of the best rotations in baseball, which in 2027 will get a full season from Kade Anderson, MLB Pipeline’s top pitching prospect. You can expect at least some amount of rebound from Rodríguez and Raleigh and, honestly, the tough luck that hit them this year has to turn around somewhat. A clean slate may be exactly what the Mariners need.

NL East: Mets

We already wrote last week about the Mets and why it makes sense to be hopeful, but in case you missed it, or need to hear it again, we’re happy to repeat it. The Mets have played much better in the second half of the season, and they did so largely because of launch seasons for rookies Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing and Nolan McLean, all of whom should be expected to take further steps forward next year.

They should have full seasons of Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto in 2027, and Soto has to win an MVP Award one of these years, right? They have clear spots to upgrade the roster and a farm system that has already produced fruit and has more coming. The Mets are highly motivated, have exciting young players and will do what it takes to try to win every year. What could possibly go wrong?

NL Central: Pirates

We know a lot of Pirates fans are frustrated with how this season has gone, and we get it: We predicted them to make the playoffs this year, and we were not alone in that. The Pirates thought, with Paul Skenes fronting a strong rotation and backed by an improved lineup, that they could break through.

They didn’t quite do that, but for what it’s worth, they may be about to finish over .500 for the second time in a decade. That rotation depth is still there, and it’s reasonable to expect more from Skenes in 2027, even if most pitchers would be happy with a 114 ERA+ in 31 starts. Konnor Griffin should be healthy and ready to play a full season after more than holding his own as a 20-year-old in the big leagues. This year was a step forward. There could be a bigger one coming in 2027.

NL West: Giants

Yeah, this year was a bit of a mess, and you can’t put all of it, or even a lot of it, on new manager Tony Vitello, who didn’t exactly make a smooth transition from the college game. The Giants stumbled out of the gate and never got it together, and by the end of the year their lineup looked nothing at all like it did at the beginning. (Neither did their rotation.)

But some of those young players who got opportunities impressed, most notably Bryce Eldridge, who looks like he’s going to hit a lot of balls into McCovey Cove in his career. They also got all they could have hoped for out of Rafael Devers, who is going to get MVP votes for the sixth time in his career. The rival Dodgers are always a looming tower in the NL West, but the Giants are always going to have the resources and fan support to claw their way back up this division ... where they belong.